Lets say you bid on an Apt complex you did not have last year. Being new I bid the spring clean-up as if a somewhat good fall cleanup was done. Come to find out it was not done at all. There are so many leaves on the ground you can not even see the grass. If you win the bid how would you handle this?

lawncuttinfoo

03-19-2007, 11:25 PM

enforce my 30 day opt out clause on contract, and put off the cleanup

sildoc

03-19-2007, 11:30 PM

Depends if I underbid or not. 1 year contract? 2, 3? I would mow first time and see what comes up and chalk it up to not paying attention when I bid. Lesson learned.

LwnmwrMan22

03-19-2007, 11:53 PM

Depends if I underbid or not. 1 year contract? 2, 3? I would mow first time and see what comes up and chalk it up to not paying attention when I bid. Lesson learned.

Same here.

You have to realize that if a property is looking for bids, there's a reason they got rid of the last person.

1) They thought the person / company was too high, so they're price shopping. Don't want any part of that.

2) The previous person / company didn't do the job, therefore the property is probably going to be a bit of a dump, not what you would have left your property looking like after the last visit of the year.

Chalk it up as lesson learned. Next time if you can't see the cleanup job, you have to bid it like it's not been done for a year.

sildoc

03-20-2007, 12:10 AM

did you bid with snow on the ground? If so I would go back to the company or property managment and say there is no way I can do this clean up for the price I quoted. I quoted as if there were actually leaves picked up this last fall. this is the price to get it clean. either pay me to clean these up or pay some one else and I will continue services. Other wise this is your 30 day notice. I hope you gave yourself an out. most wont take you to court but there are those that will.

dcondon

03-20-2007, 12:40 AM

Depends if I underbid or not. 1 year contract? 2, 3? I would mow first time and see what comes up and chalk it up to not paying attention when I bid. Lesson learned.

Very well said, it's called live and learn sometimes.

DaughtryLC

03-20-2007, 01:05 AM

I have learned the hard why to always LOOK at the property Myself. That means getting out of the truck and walking it over. NEVER take anyones word for it!

d&rlawncare

03-20-2007, 09:48 AM

I bid it during the fall before fall cleanups were done or right around that time. I have signed nothing with these people and probably wont even get it. I just drove by it the other day and realized the fall cleanup was never done. So I do have an out. I just wanted to know how you guys/gals might approach this IF they do call me.

I think they knew they were going to go with someone else and saved money by not doing a fall cleanup last year. JMO. If they do call me I was simply tell them due to last years cleanup not being done and additional spring cleanup will be needed to clear the property.

Thanks.

kpyoung

03-20-2007, 11:48 AM

If the property is going to be a money-maker over the term of the contract I would do the clean-up and eat the extra cost. Maybe make up some of the lost money selling additional services to them. If the clean-up is so excessive that it is going to run you into the hole for the term of the contract, I would look for a legal out.

topsites

03-20-2007, 01:42 PM

Agreed, look before you leap.

This boils down to the main reasons Lco's could use 4 but really 5 years experience before taking on commercial props, so that you know to do this because when a commercial account burns you it's a lot worse than a residential problem. You're far better off taking your education from the residential guys for the first 3-4 years, you'll see it's challenge enough, a commercial account such as this can put you out of business.

In the case of cleanups, you really need to walk the property and stick your foot in the stuff to see how deep it is, and determine whether anything's been done since last fall. If it has been cleaned this season, then it's usually no big deal but always walk the prop.
But if I catch a cleanup this time of year where nothing's been done all season, I quote double the price because I have to haul up equipment that's already been stored and it has to run on dirty black oil as well (I'm not changing oil for one lousy job).

But yeah, I don't think there's anything you can do, they'll just look at you funny so lessons learned, chalk it up to experience.
I suppose you could try telling them that you've realized you're way in over your head, but whether it will fly is another story, thou I also agree that looking for a legal out likely is a sound option.

cantoo

03-20-2007, 05:55 PM

How can you bid a Spring cleanup in the Fall? This would be like bidding a cutting job over the phone. No good will come from it.
It would depend on what you discussed with the client. Like the other guys said if you bid the rest at a decent price then you might have to eat the cleanup or lose the job and your credibility.